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Michael Berkeley awarded life peerage

Michael Berkeley was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s 2012 birthday honours list

Composer Michael Berkeley has been awarded a life peerage. He will serve in the House of Lords as a cross-bench, non-party political peer.

He said he was ‘very honoured to be appointed’ and ‘particularly pleased that the appointments commission was keen to increase representation in the field of music and the arts.’

Berkeley was awarded the CBE in 2012 for services to music (right) and has presented Radio 3’s Private Passions for more than 15 years.

Berkeley studied composition with Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and has been commissioned by many orchestras and music groups including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (as its associate composer from 1979), the London Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (where he was composer in association), Nash Ensemble and New York Philharmusica.

Chamber group the Berkeley Ensemble takes its name from him and his father, Sir Lennox.

From 1995 to 2005 he directed the Cheltenham International Festival of Music.

‘Michael is not only an accomplished composer but also an expert communicator, not least reflected in his ability to have engaging and insightful conversations with his guests,’ said Radio 3 controller Roger Wright. ‘This recognition of his place in our society is hugely deserved.’

Recent comments

Cheryl Frances-Hoad: When will sexism stop tainting my profession?I have to say I found this article slightly odd. I attend concerts regularly and am nearly always pleasantly surprised to see how many female orchestral players there are in our symphony orchestras and other musical groups. I agree there are many fewer female composers and conductors than males ones, but surely you wouldn't suggest "positive discrimination"? Peter HodgsonPeter Hodgson - Mar 22, 12:49 PM

Philip Borg-Wheeler: Why is Sibelius still a foreign language to so many?Glad to see you are still flying the flag for the unsurpassable Paavo, Philip. I totally agree about Rattle, Davis and others. Nowadays Vanska leads the field with some wonderful work being done here in Cardiff by Danish conductor Thomas Sondergard (a great admirerer of Berglund) and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. I have always liked Ashkenazy in Sibelius too. Of Berglund's three cycles, I still rate his BSO versions above them all. Those readers curious about Berglund should aceess a Fiinnish-made documentary filmed in Helsinki and Bournemouth - it's worth watching for the BSO rehearsal sequences alone, even if you cannot understand the commentary. Martin FurberMartin Furber - Mar 17, 11:20 AM

Geoffrey Baker: 'We need ethically and pedagogically sound music education, not music education in any form'Tricia Tunstall It seems that Mr. Baker and I are at an impasse regarding “authentic scholarship.” His insults to my book include the accusation that it “lacks any discernible grounding in scholarship.” I have never claimed to have written a scholarly work. My book was an honest report on my experiences encountering El Sistema in Venezuela and in the U.S. I have great respect for scholarly work. Changing Lives is reportage, not scholarship. Mr. Baker says his book is scholarship because it includes a host of interviews and citations. However, most of his interviewees remain anonymous, making the research entirely unverifiable. (In my unscholarly book, I do attributes every quote by name.) Further, his citations are all in support of his views; there is no acknowledgment that in fact there are many people, scholarly and otherwise, who hold views opposing his. For these reasons, I cannot consider his work a model of scholarly endeavor. Regarding Mr. Baker’s assertion that my portrayal of Maestro Abreu constitutes hagiography: how seriously can this be taken, from someone who has called Abreu “the Fuhrer”? And as for his plucking out the three words “in any form” in my sentence in support of music education,...Tricia Tunstall - Jan 24, 8:59 PM

Tricia Tunstall: Geoffrey Baker's El Sistema denunciation has the feel of a vendettaTricia Tunstall Geoff Baker has chosen to attack me from a personal angle, beginning with his first, intentionally insulting sentence. I am compelled, therefore, to address his misrepresentations. To be clear: I have never once been paid by El Sistema. And I was a successful independent writer and music educator for three decades before discovering and becoming an enthusiast about El Sistema five years ago. As for “hitching” my career: Are we to understand that Baker’s crusade against El Sistema has nothing to do with building his own career? Further, I have never claimed that I am a scholar or that my books are scholarly. However, I have had a number of years of graduate study in musicology and music education, and I have great respect for the scrupulous attribution-based research and deliberate moderation of tone that characterize fine academic scholarship. I do not see these qualities in great evidence in Baker’s book. On the grounds that Maestro Abreu’s grandparents were Italian immigrants, Baker scorns my claim that Abreu and the eleven other Sistema founders were “native Venezuelans.” I believe that quite a large percentage of Americans, both North and South, would be surprised to hear that having immigrant grandparents...Tricia Tunstall - Dec 16, 5:26 PM